Texas A&M (19-8, 9-5 SEC) is closer than ever to earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Ole Miss at home and Oklahoma on the road last week, ending what had been a miserable four-game losing streak. Set to take on No. 20 Arkansas for one of two final road games during the regular season, first-year head coach Bucky McMillan and his veteran squad have the right mindset.
Finally, looking like the team we saw earlier in the year, Texas A&M's defense held Oklahoma to just 33% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc, and held star guard Nigel Pack to just 6 points and a 2-for-9 performance from the field. Set to face what many consider to be the best guard in college basketball, Arkansas star freshman Darius Acuff is averaging 22.2 PPG and shooting 50% from the field and 44% from three.
For senior forward Rashaun Agee, preventing Acuff and the Razorbacks from shredding the Aggie defense, especially in the paint, will give Texas A&M a chance to make this a back-and-forth contest, similar to Arkansas's close road win vs. Missouri.
"Just emphasizing guard your man. Guard your yard and understand that you have help, but the help is there to help you, not for you to just give up certain angles and allow things to happen. Defend your man. Beat your matchup and don't allow someone to just score on you," Agee said.
After defeating Oklahoma, Texas A&M has four Quad 1 wins, and if the Aggies pull off the upset on Wednesday, five Quad 1 victories would all but secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. On Tuesday, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his updated bracket prediction, and after dropping Texas A&M to the 10-seed line, Saturday's win over Oklahoma has bolstered the Aggies' resume, now predicted as a 9-seed.
Given the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee's tendency to avoid rematches, I don't see this happening against the 8-seed SMU. Either way, the Aggies are trending up with four regular-season games remaining, and likely need to win three of their last four games to earn the 8-seed or higher.
Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update has Texas A&M as a No. 9 seed heading to Buffalo 👍
— Luke Evangelist (@lukeevangelist_) February 24, 2026
The selection committee will avoid first round rematches so don’t pay too much attention to the SMU rematch.
A&M is starting to creep back onto the No. 9 seed line. pic.twitter.com/6lyEPCiKe4
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M basketball rises to a 9-seed ESPN's Bracketology update